


Little Boys Are Full of Surprises

by waddiwasiwitch



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Family, Gen, Mischief, young Roy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6356059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waddiwasiwitch/pseuds/waddiwasiwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking on an orphan involved a lot more excitement than Chris Mustang had suspected. Featuring young Roy, a missing dog and teenage Olivier Armstrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Boys Are Full of Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for @onehundredpercenthouses on Tumblr, I hope you like it. I have a weakness for Madam Christmas and Roy Mustang’s relationship. So, here’s a little piece of young Roy.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Little boys are full of surprises**

The sound of barking rouses me from my sleep. I sit up in my bed and listen hard. There is a scrabbling sound from outside my bedroom door.  
I hear a hushing sound. “Ssh - you’ll wake her?”  
I shake my head. Roy boy! And I had thought that my life would be stifled by the addition of child. I grab my night gown and put on my slippers. I walk as quietly as I can, determined to catch him in the act. I open the door quickly and the boy jumps s mile in the air. A little white dog at his feet barks.  
“Roy boy, what’s the meaning of this?”  
The boy stammers. “Uh – he…I..uh.”  
I raise an eyebrow.  
“I don’t know how he got in,” he says.  
I close my eyes and breathe out deeply. “If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing.” I point down the stairs. “Take the dog outside, I’m sure it has an owner looking for it.”  
Or a shepherd? It looks a little like a sheep.  
“But Aunt Chris,” he protests.  
“That’s enough, Roy. I’m going to get dressed and when I come down I expect you to be sitting at the table for breakfast.”  
“It’s not fair!” His face is flushed and his fists are clenched. “I hate you!”  
He stomps down the stairs, the dog in his wake. I don’t think he really means those words, but it hurts all the same. 

*******

  
I worry a lot, because I’m not exactly maternal and I know fuck all about raising a child. Not to mention I wonder if a bar is an appropriate place to bring up a young boy. Still, my girls all love him – dote on him and treat him like a younger brother.  
When he first came to me, he was solemn and angry grieving for his parents. And it was hard!  
At first, I felt pain when I looked at him, the loss of my baby brother still raw. Roy boy has the same black hair, also imbued with a life of its own. It will never sit still - a little like the boy himself.  
Back then, the poor kid didn’t speak a word for a whole week. It took time, but in time he thrived and grew in confidence. He came out of his shell and started to get into mischief and run his mouth off. Just like he is right now! I shake my head and sigh. I better get ready.

*********

  
I make my way downstairs into the kitchen. Roy is not sitting at the table. Knowing exactly where he is, I go outside. The boy is on the ground next to the dog.  
“Give me the paw,” he demands.  
He quite likes giving orders, does Roy. I chuckle softly. He turns to me and takes a sharp intake of breath.  
“Why aren’t you at the table?”  
“I’m sorry,” he says.  
I just nod and take a closer look at his canine companion. The dog’s black and white fur is well cared for. It certainly isn’t a stray and there is a little silver tag on a collar around his neck with the name Armstrong engraved on it.  
“Is that the dog’s name or the owner’s name?” I wonder aloud.  
Roy shrugs his shoulders.  
“You know this dog has to go home, right?” I say.  
He sighs. “I know.”  
A loud voice calls, “Asquith!”  
The dog looks up and barks. The owner of the voice is revealed as a young woman with long, blond hair who is walking down the street. The dog bolts away from Roy much to his dismay and towards the young woman.  
“Asquith, where gave you been?” She fixes her gaze on the poor dog. “Bad dog!”  
Now that she was closer, I realise she is not quite a woman. She is still a teenager, but with air of someone a lot older. Asquith, as he is now revealed to be, whines and looks to the ground. The girl notices Roy and I for the first time.  
“Did you steal my dog?” she demands, her blue eyes hard and cold.  
“My nephew is not a thief.”  
Roy stands up beside me and doesn’t flinch under the girl’s gaze. “Maybe your dog wouldn’t run away if you weren’t so mean to him.”  
I don’t hide my smile at Roy’s audacity. The girl glares at him, but doesn’t say anything else. She turns on her heel and Asquith follows her. I clap Roy on the back.  
“Well it looks like your friend is back with his family.” I get to my feet. “Come on, let’s get some breakfast.”  
“Yeah,” he says as he watches mournfully the girl and dog disappear down the street.

*********

  
We walk inside and Roy sits at the table while I boil some water for a pot of tea.  
His feet dangle from the chair and he swings them back and forth.  
“Aunt Chris, can we get a dog, please?”  
I turn back to him. “We’re not buying a dog.”  
“Please Aunt Chris!”  
“No chance kiddo.”  
“But what if we could get one for free?”  
“Not even then. I already have one ruffian running around. A bar is no place for a dog.”  
He pouts, a habit that holds little sway with me, but gives him an unfair advantage with my girls.  
“Okay,” he says grudgingly. “It’s just - it gets lonely here sometimes with nobody to play with.”  
Damn him.  
I sit at the opposite side of the table. “What would you say if I told you that you will be starting school in a few weeks?”  
“Really?” He smiles, a huge grin that makes my heart swell.  
I nod. “It’s about time, you’re a smart boy.”  
“I’ll be the best in the class. I swear!”  
He’s definitely his father’s son.  
“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”  
“I’ll make them proud.” His eyes meet mine. “And I’ll make you proud too!”  
“Idiot boy - I’m already proud of you.” I reach across the table and ruffle his hair.  
“I love you, Aunt Chris.”  
He has never said those words before. Touched, I can feel tears in my eyes. I think that the boy, with his mouth gaping wide, is almost as shocked as I am.  
“What’s wrong?” He pats my hand. “Please don’t cry.”  
The dear boy.  
“It’s alright, Roy boy,” I reassure him. “I’m crying, because I’m overwhelmed.”  
He bites his lip, the way he does when he’s thinking hard. I often tease him by asking him if it hurts. I can’t bring myself to tease just now.  
“I cried when my parents died, but then you came and got me, and I wasn’t so sad anymore.”  
I wipe away the tears. I know he’s going to be a heartbreaker someday; he practices by breaking mine every day.  
“It’s okay,” I say. “These are happy tears, I swear.”  
“Okay!” he says wearing a little frown. Poor kid is still worried. He fidgets with the sleeve of his shirt.  
“Roy boy,” I say.  
He looks up at me. “Huh?”  
“I love you too, kiddo,” I say.  
His face lights up and he jumps down from chair. He charges around the table and throws his arms around me. “Promise you won’t leave me, Aunt Chris!”  
It’s like he put his hand deep into my chest and pulled out my heart.  
“I’ll do my best, Roy.” I hug him to me. “Just remember this is our little secret. Nobody must know that Madam Christmas has a heart.”  
“Why?” he asks, his brows furrowed.  
“Because then they would know that I have a little black haired weakness that I allow eat me out of house and home.”  
He flashes me an unrepentant grin. “Are you talking about me?”  
“You’re a menace,” I say and he wriggles out of my grasp.  
He sticks out his tongue and I waggle a finger at him.  
Suddenly, he sits up straight and gasps. “Aunt Chris?”  
“What is it?”  
“I might need a little help to remember that nobody else is to know that you’re a big softie.”  
I try not to smile. He needs little encouragement. “Go on!”  
“How about you let me a get a dog after all?”  
“Nice try, kiddo!”  
*******

The end


End file.
